𝐓𝐫𝗼𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

𓆝.° ｡˚. CHAPTER 4 .° ｡˚𓆛*.｡.

"So let me get this straight," Jakes says while pacing, "You were genetically designed to be a super soldier for Ardmore and Quaritch, until, and correct me if I'm wrong, Norm, rescued you from the government? So you lived for 15 years inside of a mobile linking unit with Spider, Norm and all of the other humans, and on your birthday they agreed to let you begin using the Avatar that you started working on when you were five?" He stops pacing and turns to face me. "Oh and your human body also has the strength of a Na'vi, enhanced intelligence, and the ability to breathe Pandora air." He looks at me like I'm stupid while Neytiri looks faint. 

"Yes, Sir, that is correct."

Everyone holds their breath as they try to decipher Jake's reaction. He does a 360 spin with his hands behind his head, pauses in front of me, opens his mouth as if he's about to start yelling-

and then he laughs.

The Olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya clan, Toruk Makto, looks me dead in the eye and laughs out loud at my existence. 

I simply sit on the floor with pursed lips as all of the other Na'vi join in Jake's laughter. After about 10 minutes of them rolling on the floor, hyperventilating, the Sully family comes to their senses. They all face me as I sit there. Quiet. Processing what in Eywa just happened. 

Jake speaks to me again, "You're joking right?" Remnants of earlier's laugh fest still prevalent on his face.

"Respectfully, Sir. As much as I wish my existence were a joke, it's not." I stand to leave the tent, but Neteyam grabs my wrist and yanks me back down. 

"Well, Neytiri, "Jake addresses his wife, "looks like we have a stowaway."

-----

Every member of Omaticaya gathered at the Tree of Souls to watch us leave. Or sorry, the Sullys leave. As I stood with Neytiri, Tuktirey, Kiri, Neteyam, and Lo'ak as Jake appointed the new Olo'eyktan, I could hear the Na'vi behind me whispering about my pressence. 

"Who is she?" "Look at her fingers!" "Why are they leaving us?!" "She's too thin, not eating properly." "She looks homeless." "Does anyone know who her parents are?" "She's honestly kind of hot" A teenage boy said that. "Her and Lo'ak would be pretty cute together." 

Lo'ak, who was standing right next to me, heard that last one. He looked at me and rolled his eyes, putting his attention back on his father.

I, however, was flustered by that comment and sheepishly looked down at my hands, while I was fiddling with my nails, I looked over and saw Lo'ak's hands. Not only were they beautiful hands (girls yk what I mean ;)), but my bracelet was on it. Perler beads and all. Gently, I reached to his hand, gaining his attention. He watched me as I turned the bracelet over to reveal the "A" bead. I released his wrist and went back to watching the scene. This time his eyes lingered on me.

-----

The family and I began boarding the Ikran. Jake took his own, obviously, so did Kiri, and Neteyam. Neytiri rode with Tuk. Thanks to 5 out of 6 rounds of rock-paper-scissors, Lo'ak lost and was forced to ride with me. 

Clearly, I didn't have a tsaheylu to an Ikran so I rode in the front while Lo'ak rode in the back to keep me stable. After all of our bags were loaded, we began our flight. I fell asleep not even an hour into it. 

--Link Broken--

I woke up in the linking pod. I wasn't planning on breaking my link or else I would have warned Norm, so when I came out, everyone was busy at work, not paying me any mind. 

"Norm!" I called out, catching everyone's attention. The skinny brunette man spotted me and ran to me, picking me up in a hug as he reached me.

"Oh, Ella, I didn't know if you were coming back!" he cried while kissing the side of my head. 

"Of course I was coming back!" I exclaimed as tears began to roll down my face. Norm noticed and set me down as he wiped them away. 

"Darling, what's wrong?" 

I told Norm everything. About the Olo'eyktan ceremony. About the Sullys and their obvious distaste for me. About Lo'ak and his sporadic behavior. About having to leave. About flying on the Ikran. 

Before I could tell him where we were going, he cut me off. 

"Don't tell me where you're going, sweetie. If Quaritch comes here, he could pry the information out of me."

I agreed. We continued to talk for a few hours as I had time to spare. Man I missed this family.

(LADIES AND GENTS THIS IS THE MOMENT YOU'VE WAITED FOR)

--Lo'ak POV--

About 45 minutes into our trip, I noticed Arabella's body go limp. In fact, she was no longer breathing. She began to slide off of my Ikran so I had to tie her body to mine to keep her upright. 

I don't like that she smells good. I don't like that she's gorgeous. I don't like that I've practically loved her since the moment I first saw her 5 years ago. Every night, that beautiful face of the girl in the Avatar pod would haunt my dreams. 

I don't like having this emotional attachment to her. I especially don't like that she was literally created to destroy us. 

Now I understand why Quaritch called her Ki'ong. He called her killer because that's what she was. A child born of science to bring death to my race. 

As I was thinking about Arabella, I started to roll her name around. It sounded too human. Any Na'vi she met would notice the odd origin sound and know that she was different. They noticed it with Grace and his Dad. 

He called out to his family, "Hey, guys, I have a question."

"What, Lo'ak?" his father called back, mildly annoyed with how long this journey was going to be.

"I think we should change Arabella's name." He announced. Everyone's heads turned to look at him and the girl tied to him, clearly unconscious. "If any Na'vi meets her, they will pick at her name until they realize that it sounds too human."

"I think A'ala is pretty," Kiri told her family, "I don't know. It's just an option."

"Alright. Sullys, listen up," Jake called to his family, "Arabella is dead. From now on, we are traveling with A'ala and and A'ala only."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

--Back to Arabella POV--

Eventually, I woke up. I'd been home for about 12 hours before I relinked to my Avatar. We were still flying, but land was visible. I went to go lean forward to pet the Ikran, but noticed that I was tied up. I immediately began pulling on the restraints. I continued to do this until I felt Lo'ak's hand on my arm, telling me to calm down.

"I hope you're well rested, A'ala. We're about an hour out."

"I did sleep well, but who the shit is A'ala?" I ask the boy. He leans into my ears and says "We changed your name. Your other one didn't sound right. Hope you fucking like it, Ki'ong."

Shit...

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Loak starting the enemies to lovers trope? Lo'ak being a sassypants? Let's fucking do it. Also, this chapter is also very, very long so I apologize! Love y'all!

-dotted_pacific